A group of University students is gearing up for a January launch of a new college radio station that aims to expose listeners to lesser-known music.
Slated to stream music out of Room 66 of Allen Hall, the creators of Pizza FM said they focused on the commercial-free aspect because it allows them to broadcast their program online without guidelines from sponsors or advertisers.
Evan Rogers, sophomore in LAS, said the lack of advertisements will bring new music to students they wouldn’t hear otherwise.
“College radio essentially means that we don’t play commercial hits,” he said. “Part of the big focus of Pizza FM is exposing people to music they’re not familiar with.”
Pizza FM members want to make searching for music easier by having DJs rotate genres during their shifts, giving listeners exposure to a variety of music.
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“College radio provides a filter for people who are searching for music they like,” said Adam Barnett, executive director of Pizza FM and senior in Media. “It makes the search less stressful, and that’s what Pizza FM wants to be. We want to promote this underexposed music to people who want to hear it.”
By not having sponsors, the station can operate without certain constraints. But Rogers and Barnett have a rule that Pizza FM cannot play popular music such as the Top 40 hits, including Taylor Swift’s “We Are Never Ever Getting Back Together” or Maroon 5’s “One More Night.”
By being free-form and commercial-free, Pizza FM has time for student talk shows and promoting local artists. Rogers said students will be able to talk about topics that members of Pizza FM would approve and create playlists with music from local artists and Pizza FM members’ friends.
Samantha Erickson, freshman in FAA, said she likes the idea of helping local artists and DJs.
“I love the idea of helping musicians get their music out there while I have so much fun doing it for them,” Erickson said. “It benefits everyone. I hope giving this campus a radio station open to any student participation will. I also believe that the bands on campus and around the area will have a place to go to get feedback and expose their music.”
Currently, Pizza FM is fundraising to gain money needed to launch the station. They have sponsors such as the Krannert Center for the Performing Arts and have built connections with already established music organizations.
Atoosa can be reached at [email protected].
